Your Favorite Olive Garden Dessert Isn't As Fresh As You Might Have Thought

Olive Garden has long been a favorite for families to enjoy a comforting, affordable meal out. From its iconic breadsticks to creamy pasta dishes, there's something for everyone — including their decadent dessert list. Olive Garden offers Italian-inspired classics like tiramisu, Italian doughnuts, and Sicilian cheesecake, along with indulgent favorites like the Chocolate Lasagna.

But while the desserts may taste like they just came out of the oven, the reality is that all of Olive Garden's desserts are frozen. They are pre-made by a third-party company, shipped frozen, and then heated up in Olive Garden's microwaves before serving.

Desserts aren't the only items that arrive frozen, either. According to a former employee on Reddit, many meats, appetizers, and kids' meals — including mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, fries, mac and cheese, ziti fritta, and even the scampi sauce — also come frozen. However, most items are cooked or fried to order, while the microwave is reserved for desserts, sauces, soups, and steamed vegetables.

It's important to note that freezing ingredients isn't necessarily a sign of low quality. In fact, many popular restaurant items are often made from frozen foods, especially at large, national chains like Olive Garden. Freezing ensures consistency amongst all locations, reduces food waste, keeps ingredients safe during transportation, and allows prices to stay affordable. Preparing items in advance also allows Olive Garden to serve dishes quickly without compromising on flavor.  

That said, not everything at Olive Garden comes from the freezer. The restaurant boils dry pasta in large batches, then cools it and flash-boils it to order. Olive Garden soups are also made fresh in-house daily, although they are bagged to keep them fresh the rest of the day. According to another employee on Reddit, the fresh ingredients like kale and spinach are added at the end, right before serving. Besides the scampi sauce, their sauces are also made fresh, including their alfredo-like carbonara and their meat sauce with a boozy ingredient. Their famous house salad is made throughout the day using fresh lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, olives, and pepperoncini, and tossed to order with Olive Garden's signature dressing. And while the breadsticks arrive at Olive Garden par-baked, they're finished for a few minutes in the oven and brushed with butter and garlic salt prior to serving.